Legal firm Keystone Law has yet to reach its one-year anniversary as a listed entity, but directors are saying demand for shares is already outstripping supply. At least, that was the reasoning given for ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Kurdistan-focused Genel Energy (GENL.L) might start drilling in Somaliland next year, Chief Executive Murat Ozgul said on Thursday, as the group reported 2017 results broadly in line ...

The decline in production is due to a continuing slide in output from the Taq Taq field, once considered Genel's flagship field, after the well hit water in 2016. Genel's operations in the northern Iraqi region were, however, largely unaffected following the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) independence referendum late last year that led to a military confrontation with Baghdad as well as sanctions from neighbouring countries, its Chief Financial Officer Esa Ikaheimonen told Reuters. Although the unrest slowed Genel's efforts to find a partner to develop the Miran and Bina Bawe gas fields, Genel is increasingly betting on their development after a recent survey showed a 40 percent increase in gas resources to 14.7 trillion cubic feet.

The company proposed refinancing some of its bonds through a partial early redemption and reducing its debt by replacing the existing bond agreement with a new $300 million deal. Genel, one of a handful of foreign oil companies in Iraqi Kurdistan, is also looking to extend maturity through amending and restating terms to a new 5 year bond with a coupon of 10 percent per annum. The company said a bondholders meeting will be held on Dec. 20 and that bondholders holding a significant proportion of the bonds have confirmed they will vote in favour of the proposal.

Genel said the well, which was drilled to a measured depth of 3,100 metres, encountered good quality oil bearing Cretaceous Shiranish and Kometan reservoirs. "Combined with the testing results, management is optimistic for the potential of the northern flank of the Taq Taq field," said Genel, one of a handful of foreign oil firms in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Taq Taq field currently has gross production of 15,100 barrels per day of oil.

Russian oil major Rosneft will invest in gas pipelines in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan, expanding its commitment to the region ahead of an independence referendum to help it become a major exporter of gas to Turkey and Europe. Kurdistan's parliament approved a plan on Friday to hold a referendum on independence on Sept. 25, ignoring opposition from Baghdad and the wider region as well as Western concerns that the vote could heighten tensions in the region. Kurdistan has been exporting oil independently from Baghdad since 2014 and Kremlin-controlled Rosneft joined the list of buyers this year, lending the region hundreds of millions of dollars in loans guaranteed by future oil sales.